The present invention relates to techniques for display presentation of a structure that includes nodes and links in three dimensions. More specifically, the invention relates to a presentation in which the geometry of the node-link structure can change.
Fairchild, K. M., Poltrock, S. E., and Furnas, G. W., "SemNet: Three-Dimensional Graphic Representations of Large Knowledge Bases," in Guindon, R., Ed., Cognitive Science and its Application for Human Computer Interaction, Lawrence Erlbaum, Hillsdale, N.J., 1988, pp. 201-233, describe SemNet, a three-dimensional graphical interface. SemNet presents views that allow users to examine local detail while maintaining a global representation of the rest of the knowledge base. SemNet also provides semantic navigation techniques such as relative movement, absolute movement, and teleportation. As shown and described in relation to FIG. 1-1, SemNet represents a knowledge base as a directed graph in a three-dimensional space, with elements of knowledge represented as labeled rectangles connected by lines or arcs. As noted on page 206, the nodes of the network could represent the antecedents and consequents of rules and the arcs could represent implication. Section 3.2, on pages 209-213, describes techniques, including multidimensional scaling and heuristics, that move related knowledge elements close together and unrelated knowledge elements far apart, and section 3.3, on pages 213-214, describes how these techniques can be used with personalized positioning. Section 5.2.4, on pages 227-228, describes hyperspace movement, in which the nodes connected to a selected knowledge element are temporarily moved to positions around it, and then snap back to their original positions after a new node is selected.